bhavanaKids enrichments are unlike other organizations because of the intentionality behind the development of the curriculum and the curriculum’s focus on the whole child. bhavanaKids Educators do not simply teach yoga poses, but instead meet our youth where they are and address social emotional needs through their engaging curriculum. Our youth have been able to grow as humans with bhavanaKids support. Our partnership with bhavanaKids allows our youth to receive intentional, whole child centered, high quality enrichment programs that they may not have access to otherwise. We look forward to continuing our partnership with bhavanaKids and giving all youth a chance to feel important. 

When we first decided to bring yoga and mindfulness into our school as part of our 7th grade elective programming I didn’t know what to expect. Tonia quickly created positive relationships with our students and her class was a safe space where students not only learned and practiced elements of yoga and mindfulness, they learned about the power of self-value, perseverance, and how to respond and not react to stressful situations. Over the course of two years our students have tremendously benefited from this class and from Tonia’s deep commitment to them and their growth as individuals. I offer Tonia my highest recommendations. She is warm, caring, and has the toughness and tenacity to excel when working with middle school students.

— Jessica Heesacker, Middle School Director - Denver School of Science and Technology

This class was an amazing experience for me! I will always remember this class and teacher. She taught us things that will help us in real life and help us learn knew things about our bodies. She teaches in a way where it’s interesting and you want to keep continuing to learn about your body and see what all it can do. Which is insane and I love it!!!

— V. Dominguez, 10th Grade, Cole HS Denver

Tonia is the best and I will never forget the time she spent at DSST and the inspiration that she is to me and all of the students she helped get out of their comfort zone and enjoy yoga along with life lessons.

— Steve Berglund, Educator - Denver School of Science and Technology

This woman’s work is nothing short of a miracle. She worked with me and I have honestly never felt better. It has changed the way I go through my day to day life and how I view life. I’m more open to possibilities and not so prone to tunnel vision. Thank you so much Tonia!

— Josh Benakis, Student, Aurora CO

My name is Sarah Stocking, and I am a teacher at McLain High School in Jefferson County, Colorado. We are an alternative community that serves at-risk kids. I love my job; I love my students; I love my mission. Though, there have been times when I didn’t think I was impacting my students in all the ways in which impact was needed. I provide instruction, guidance, and at times, counseling; with young adults, even this isn’t enough. One of our quarter themes is around Living Fit: healthy living in body and mind. Tonia Crosby and her yoga exercise immediately came to mind. What better person and practice to introduce to young people. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard students express their failure to focus, their constant spinning, stress, and feeling overwhelmed by circumstances out of their control. A curriculum designed with mental health and self-awareness in mind is a curriculum that aims to teach the whole person. While at times yoga seems to put people in a vulnerable position, this is exactly what our young people are lacking and are in desperate need of. From what my students and I experienced with Tonia’s classes, we became aware that yoga teaches us to take risks, while at the same time putting us in charge of our comfort and the few things we all have control of. If I had my way, Crosby’s yoga curriculum would be on every grade and secondary school schedule. Kids need focus, vision, and control - and including a yoga practice into everyday academics may very well be the modification we need to provide all of those things.

— Sarah Stocking, Educator -McLain High School

This class was very fun and I loved looking forward to seeing Tonia because she was always so positive and we always had something different to learn about. She gave us real life examples and told us about the different strategies that help her. If we didn’t feel comfortable with that specific position we were doing she would have us do something else that helped us feel more comfortable but she also did teach us some challenging yoga positions which was really fun.